


Devotee

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: Home and Hollow [2]
Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Battle, F/M, Fighting and Cuddling, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I Should Probably Apologize
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 01:55:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8778526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: “Well, I’m not sacrificing you. I refuse to let you die so soon after we finally managed to get our act together.” A few scenes from alternate, infinitely happier ending to season 3





	

**Author's Note:**

> So... the response to my Ichabbie fic "Veritas" was unexpected and COMPLETELY AMAZING (I love you all, bless you) so I'm kind of posting the one other thing floating around on my hard drive (I'm planning on writing Ichabbie future fluff, but it hasn't happened yet). 
> 
> The thing is, this is kind of the back half of a completely different final battle against the Hidden One and Pandora than we saw onscreen, and all my writerly instincts are screaming at me that I shouldn't post this because it's not a real fic. So I'll make the same agreement I did before - if no one's interested, or the general consensus is that I shouldn't have posted it, I'll take it down.

Ichabod crashed to the ground, thrown by a burst of power. He was facing a god, all alone, and it was only a matter of time before his body gave way. Still, staggered to his feet again and lifted a hand to continue to the spell. “Ut coven tuam secura tibi libertate servire—“

The Hidden One threw another burst of magic at Ichabod, sending him staggering back. He wasn’t the only one who staggered – Pandora was on her knees by this point, the Hidden One draining her to maintain his power against the combined attacks they’d been throwing at him. At the moment, Ichabod was the only one still fighting – Abbie, Jenny and Joe had coordinated their exits earlier, making it look like they’d escaped when the god’s assault had become too overwhelming. The Hidden One had mocked him for it, that his woman hadn’t proven as loyal as his.

Now, Ichabod refocused his attention on the spell. “Omnis fallaciae, libera nos, domin—“ The rest of the word choked into silence as another assault drove Ichabod back down to his knees.

The Hidden One walked closer, staggering a little under the power drain Ichabod had managed, but as arrogant as ever. “Foolish mortal,” he intoned. “You are alone. You have failed in your task. Accept defeat, and I will send you into the great beyond with the dignity befitting a warrior.”

Ichabod looked up at the god through his fading vision. He could feel the last of his strength slipping away from him, but he needed to hold on just a little bit longer. “Would you accept defeat in my place?”

The god looked amused. “I would not need to.”

Ichabod lifted his hand again. “Dominate te roga—“ Another blast drove him down, the pain barely able to penetrate the numbness of his body shutting down, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Pandora sway and collapse forward as well. He thought he heard the sound of movement, just beyond the edge of his hearing, but at this point he couldn’t be sure.

The Hidden One moved even closer. “I will end you now, and then I will find the Witness who fled the field of battle and—“

The rest of his threat disappeared as a wave of what looked like a wave of pure electricity washed over him. He screamed, dropping to his knees, and looked at Ichabod with a shocked expression. “How? I defeated you!”

Ichabod smiled. “I wasn’t your enemy,” he managed, meeting the Hidden One’s eyes. “I was the distraction.”

As he spoke, the sound of chanting filled the room. Abbie, Jenny and Joe came up behind the god, chanting the incantation as they moved around him in a circle. Lines of light arced through the air between them, and Ichabod used what little energy he had left to stagger safely outside the boundaries of the circle before collapsing to the ground. Whether or not his body held out, he wouldn’t end up bound with the Hidden One.

He watched as the three bravest people he had ever met lifted their arms in the incantation that had first bound the god, the key for which Abbie had found while she was trapped in the other dimension. She was the one who led the spell, radiating power and authority as she executed each word with the utmost precision. In that moment, she appeared to be as much or more a goddess as her enemy.

The Hidden One struggled, staggering to his feet to try and lunge for Abbie, but the ropes of electricity wouldn’t let him make it that far. Abbie sliced the ceremonial knife across the meat of her bare arm, letting the blood drip onto one of the arcs of light. It flared a violent gold, the space between them filling with white light. Then there was a violent sound, like a thunderclap, and then only a blessed silence. Where the god had been, there was only an empty space.

Abbie was running before the glare had even faded, dropping to her knees next to him. Joe dropped down on his other side, looking desperately for some way to use his medical training, while above them Jenny called 911.  “No, no, no,” Abbie breathed, pulling him into her arms. “You stay with me, Crane. The only reason I agreed to this stupid plan is because you promised me you would do everything in your power to stay with me.”

“And I shall,” he breathed, as Joe tore open his shirt and began to apply bandages. “But I’m afraid I may not get a final say in the matter.”

Her eyes filled. “It should have been me.”

“No.” He lifted his free hand enough so the tips of his fingers could touch her cheek. “It was my turn to make the sacrifice.”

She swallowed. “Well, I’m not sacrificing _you_. I refuse to let you die so soon after we finally managed to get our act together.” She pressed a kiss against his forehead, then looked up at her sister. “How soon did the ambulance say they could get here?”

“Ten minutes.” Jenny walked with a limp, her cheek cut, but when Joe swore she blinked back her own tears. “Should we get him to the truck?”

“We may have to risk it,” Joe said, applying pressure to a leg wound that was bleeding sluggishly. “Abbie, can you—“

“Already on it,” she said, sliding her arm around so that she was supporting his back. “Come on, soldier. On your feet.”

Ichabod braced himself for a lift he already knew would hurt like hell, knowing it was worth it for a chance to stay here with Abbie. “If the worst happens, leftenant, remember—“

“No.” She cut him off, the word stubborn despite the fact that her voice was thick with emotion. “We’ll get all mushy again once you’re in the clear. I’ve got some shit to say to you, too, and I’m sure as hell not going to do it here.”

Ichabod’s lips flickered upward. “I love you, Abigail Mills. Whether I am here or on the other side, nothing will change that.”

Abbie blinked back a new flood of tears as Joe moved to brace Ichabod’s other side. “I’m going to make you repeat that after we get you to the hospital. On the count of three – one, two—“

She stopped speaking when Ichabod began to glow faintly, the pain inside him sharpening as shock disappeared before fading to a more manageable ache. As the glow faded he let go of Abbie and Joe, surprised he could sit up unaided, then met Abbie’s eyes in confusion.

“It is fortunate for you all, I suppose, that I will not live long enough to collect on my debt.”

As one, they turned to Pandora, lying on the ground with one hand stretched out toward them. “You saved me?” Ichabod asked, stunned. “Why?”

Sorrow, tinged with bitterness, filled Pandora’s features. “Because you chose to give your life so the one you loved could live and be strong, as I did, but she fights to protect you instead of merely accepting your gift as her due.” She turned to Abbie, her voice unsteady with more than just a lack of strength. “You were the goddess, not the follower. I did not understand.”

Abbie shifted slightly so that more of her was shielding Ichabod. He, in turn, shifted so he could pull her out of the way should something happen. “What are you going to do now that you know?” Abbie asked.

“I... am going to finally die.” The words were barely a breath. “I have been here too long as it is.” She focused on Ichabod again. “You made a better choice than I did, Witness. Cherish the gift that she gives you – it is rarer than you think.”

He allowed himself to feel a flicker of sympathy. “I know just how rare it is.”

Pandora smiled slightly, then closed her eyes. A moment later, she crumbled into a pile of ash.

Jenny was the first one to break the silence. “Well, that was both unexpected and a little creepy,” she said, her voice shaky with relief. “Now, we should probably get out of here, because I honestly don’t know what we’re going to tell the EMTs once they show up.”

000

“I still think we should have let Joe take you in and get you x-rayed,” Abbie argued for the third time since they’d made it home, dropping down next to him on the couch.

“There was no need. As I said, Pandora’s spell seemed to have taken care of any internal injuries I may have had.” Ichabod carefully put his arm around Abbie, any lingering pain easing dramatically when she laid her head against the unbandaged portion of his chest. He was aware the effect was entirely psychological, but that made it no less effective. “As for the surface injuries, Joe has once again done an excellent job of suturing and bandaging us both. The hospital could do no better.”

Abbie sighed. “She taunted me about you, once, when you gave yourself malaria. At the time I thought she was just using an obvious weak spot, but now I wonder if she saw similarities between us.”

“And then she discovered that it was she and I who were truly most alike.” He marveled that they’d never tried to use his desperation against him in a similar manner, especially during the time Abbie had been trapped in the other dimension. They’d used the god and Pandora’s blindness to finally defeat them, but until now he hadn’t understood the full extent of it. “Helplessly devoted to someone who’s glory and greatness far outshone our own.”

She shifted her head enough to give him a disbelieving look. “Uh huh.”

He smiled a little. “Oh, I’m quite serious.” He pressed a kiss against her hair. “Pandora wasn’t wrong when she called you a goddess.”

Her brow lowered in fond exasperation. “You know, if I wasn’t so relieved that you aren’t dead, I would totally be calling you on your bullshit right now.”

“This is far from bullshit, my dear leftenant.” He lifted his eyebrow in challenge. “A true scholar is always prepared to back up his claims with a plentitude of well documented evidence.”

She studied his expression for a long moment, then pushed herself up enough to give him a long, slow kiss. Ichabod let it sweep over him, leaning them both back along the couch so he could put his other arm around her as well. Some of his muscles protested, not pleased by the increased activity, but they were in the minority and therefore were immediately outvoted.

When they broke apart, she looked down at him with a vulnerable expression. “No more solo jaunts into deadly situations,” she murmured. “Next apocalypse, we share the danger equally.”

He tightened his arms around her. “No more running into dimensional gates without me?”

“And no more playing bait without me.” Her voice was soft as she smoothed his hair back from his forehead. “I love you, Crane. Don’t make me be here without you.”

Distantly, he felt another flicker of sympathy for Pandora. To have lived so long, and never known anything like this. “As long as you do not make me be here without you.”

There was the sheen of tears in her eyes. “Together, then.”

He tugged her down for another kiss. “From here into eternity.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my weekly posts and original short fiction on my [blog](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


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